The Palestinians have repeatedly slammed the U.S.-brokered Israel-UAE deal, but the Arab League refused to support a resolution condemning the deal.

By Associated Press

The Palestinian foreign minister Wednesday unsuccessfully called on Arab states to dismiss a deal between the United Arab Emirates and Israel to normalize relations, describing the agreement scheduled to be finalized next week as “an earthquake.”

The UAE and Israel announced the deal to establish full diplomatic relations on Aug. 13. It reflected a changing Middle East in which shared concerns about archenemy Iran have largely overtaken traditional Arab support for the Palestinians.

Most of the Arab world has rejected diplomatic ties with Israel in the absence of a peace deal establishing a Palestinian state. That steadfast support for the Palestinians, however, has begun to weaken in recent years.

Consistent with decades of rejectionist policy, the Palestinians have repeatedly condemned the U.S.-brokered Israel-UAE deal because it flies in the face of the Arab world’s boycott of Israel.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki told the Arab League in Wednesday’s meeting that the Palestinian Authority called for an emergency meeting following the announcement of the UAE-Israeli deal.

He said one Arab League member opposed a Palestinian request to add an item to the meeting agenda, an apparent reference to a Palestinian-introduced draft resolution on the deal. Al-Malki did not name the country.

The meeting was held online because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Al-Malki described the deal between the UAE and Israel as “an earthquake” that hit the Arab consensus over the Palestinian cause and he urged Arab foreign ministers to reject the deal, “otherwise our meeting will be considered a blessing or collusion with it, or a cover for it.”

Hossam Zaki, the Arab League’s deputy secretary general, told a news conference in Cairo that the foreign ministers failed to reach a compromise on a resolution on the UAE-Israeli deal because of differences between the Palestinians and Emirates on the wording of the Palestinian-introduced draft.

Al-Malki accused the U.S. of pressuring other Arab countries to normalize ties with Israel, which he described as a “colonial and racist occupation.”

The post Palestinian FM fails to convince Arab states to condemn Israel-UAE deal appeared first on World Israel News.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki maintained on Palestine TV that the PA’s International Criminal Court complaint over the US’ embassy move to Jerusalem was part of a plan caculated to “isolate” the US on the international stage.

The post WATCH: ‘PA is isolating the US,’ claims Palestinian FM appeared first on World Israel News.

British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson told his Palestinian counterpart that Jerusalem will be the “shared capital of the Israeli and Palestinian states.”

By: World Israel News Staff

Britain’s chief diplomat Boris Johnson told the Palestinian Authority’s Riyad al-Malki on Monday that Jerusalem will ultimately be shared by Israel and a future Palestinian state, according to a statement from the British foreign office .

“I reiterated the UK’s commitment to supporting the Palestinian people and the two-state solution, the urgent need for renewed peace negotiations, and the UK’s clear and longstanding position on the status of Jerusalem,” Johnson stated.

“It should be determined in a negotiated settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and Jerusalem should ultimately be the shared capital of the Israeli and Palestinian states,” he stated.

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) voted last month in favor of a nonbinding resolution condemning US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The resolution also represents a rejection of the US intention to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, a policy that has been sanctioned by US law for over two decades.

The UNGA voted 128-9 with 35 abstentions to declare Trump’s declaration as “null and void.” The UK was among those that voted in favor of the resolution.

In an address ahead of the UN vote, al-Malki said the US decision represents “an aggression on the natural rights of the Palestinian people…and all Arabs and Muslims of the world.” He made repeated references to Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem, without ever acknowledging the ancient Jewish ties to the holy city.

The post UK foreign minister: Jerusalem should be ‘shared capital’ appeared first on World Israel News.

PA’s foreign minister scorns Guatemala’s “shameless act of lawlessness” while his Jordanian counterpart lambasts “absurd provocation.”     

By: Jack Ben-David, World Israel News

The Palestinian Authority (PA) lashed out at Guatemala Monday evening for its “shameful” announcement that it would emulate US President Donald Trump’s decision to move its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Riyad al-Malki, minister of Foreign and Expatriate Affairs, denounced Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales, who announced the decision on Christmas Eve, for his “insistence on dragging his country to the wrong side of history by committing a flagrant violation of international law as well as relevant United Nations Security Council and General Assembly resolutions,” according to the Palestinian Wafa news agency.

Morales announced in a Facebook post Sunday night his country will be transferring the embassy, following a conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Dear citizens of Guatemala, I have spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today. We spoke about the excellent relations our countries have enjoyed since we supported Israel’s creation. One of the important topics broached were transferring the Guatemalan Embassy to Jerusalem, and I hereby announce I have instructed the embassy’s staff to plan such a move. May God bless you,” Morales wrote.

“This announcement is also a brazen act of disrespect and disregard to the collective positions of international alliances and groups Guatemala is part of, including the Non-aligned Movement,” said a press statement issued by the Palestinian Foreign Ministry.

The agency also reported that Al-Malki stated that Morales’ “shameless act of lawlessness” was made in disregard of the church leaders in Jerusalem, “who unanimously and unequivocally declared their opposition to challenging the status of Jerusalem or moving embassies to it.”

Underscoring the point, Al-Malki referenced the Christmas speech delivered by Pope Francis on Christmas Day, calling for a negotiated settlement between Israel and the Palestinians based on a “two-state solution.”

“Let us pray that the will to resume dialogue may prevail between the parties and that a negotiated solution can finally be reached, one that would allow the peaceful coexistence of two states within mutually agreed and internationally recognized borders,” Pope Francis said from the Vatican balcony to thousands of listeners.

Palestinians allude to ‘original Christians in Palestine’

Al-Malki further accused Morales of failing to express solidarity with “the original Christians in Palestine” and instead electing “to act against their rights and status in the Holy Land on Christmas Eve. It is unconscionable.”

Concluding that Morales’ decision was an affront to “inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and international law,” the foreign minister vowed to work with the international community to deal with the Guatemalan decision.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi also joined the chorus of criticism voiced by Palestinian officials, taking to social media to make his country’s voice heard.

“We reject #Guatemala decision to move embassy to #Jerusalem & condemn it as absurd provocation, violation of international law. Occupied Jerusalem is capital of #Palestinian state which must be established on June 4 1967 lines on basis of 2-state solution as only path to peace,” Safadi wrote on Twitter.

Prime Minister Netanyahu, by contrast, sung Morales’ praises for his decision. “God bless you, my friend, President Jimmy Morales, God bless both our countries, Israel and Guatemala,” Netanyahu said in English during a Likud party faction on Monday.

The post Palestinians, Jordan rail against Guatemala’s Jerusalem embassy announcement appeared first on World Israel News.